Heroes Win Laurels
by Strider101
Summary: Camp Half-Blood will compete with Camp Jupiter in their own Olympics. Now they must all train hard, and win for their teams, but also for their Camps.
1. A Message From Olympus

Percy's POV

I had never felt so happy to be at camp. The war against Gaea had ended. We had won. All of my friends were alive. I couldn't believe I was back at Camp Half-Blood. It had been about a week, and my friends were still begging to learn everything that had happened since I had left. It embarrassed me, but when I started my stories with Annabeth beside me, everyone listened. Camp activities were still going on.

Jason Grace went back to Camp Jupiter as praetor. Leo and Piper went with him. They would stay awhile, or at least Leo would. Leo and Piper were both Greeks. It felt different being in the Roman camp as a Greek. I wasn't sure what Piper would do. I thought she would probably stay with Jason.

I thought that everything would be going back to normal. I should've known by then that nothing would be normal for me.

It happened in the arena, when I was wrestling with Clarisse. She demolished me each time we got on the mat. Annabeth, Chris and the Stoll brothers were snickering in the stands, and I scowled at them from beneath Clarrise's armpit.

Suddenly, there was a flash of light, and we all flinched. The god Apollo stood there, or rather floated in front of Clarisse and I.

Annabeth, Chris and the Stoll brothers got up from the stands and kneeled respectfully.

Clarrise shoved my face on the sweaty mat and looked up at Apollo.

"What can we do for you, Lord Apollo?" she said.

I scowled into the mat.

Apollo tilted his head and looked at us, a huge smile on his face. He was wearing a golden laurel wreath, tilted sideways on his head, and his usual white shirt, jeans, and loafers.

"You wouldn't think we'd end the war without a celebration from Olympus, would you?" he asked.

Annabeth stood. "Umm…."

"Exactly," Apollo said. "We gods want a huge celebration, and we all decided- I know I know can you believe it? We actually decided on something. Anyways, us gods decided on the Olympics."

Clarisse released me and we all stood up.

"Um . . . what?" I said.

Apollo sighed. "The Olympics. We were thinking that you demigods could compete with one another in various sports. Seriously we're all Greek here. _No one's_ heard of the Olympics?"

Annabeth said, "Well, yes we've heard of them, but . . . I mean how would we compete and all? Would Camp Jupiter be competing also?"

Apollo nodded. "Yep. It's gonna be awesome. Camp Jupiter will combine with Camp Half-Blood in the teams. You all will be sorted by who your godly parent is. So you all will be winning medals for your teams and get prizes and stuff, but also in the end the Camp with the most medals wins, too. So, yeah go have a meeting or something. Since we're Greek and we made up the Olympics, Camp Half-Blood will be hosting the games."

The Stoll brothers grinned furiously. Annabeth looked mortified.

"But . . ." she said, "That means . . ."

"Yep," Apollo said. "Camp Jupiter is comin' to Camp Half-Blood. Everyone hold on to your heads. Be prepared for their arrival. I've gotta go now so . . . see ya."

Apollo disappeared in a flash of golden light.

Clarisse smiled. "This is so awesome. We are going to _pulverize _everyone."

The Stolls held their heads high. "Hermes is gonna beat you all. Just wait and see."

Clarisse rolled her eyes. We were all silent for a moment.

"First one to archery wins?" Connor suggested.

We all bolted out of the arena. The Stoll brothers, of course, got to Chiron first. When we had all caught up to them, they were already saying, "-and Camp Jupiter is coming. We're the one hosting."

Chiron stroked his beard. I could tell he wasn't too happy on the idea of Camp Jupiter coming to Camp Half-Blood. It was dangerous, but we all got along much better after the war ended.

Chiron nodded. "We shall show the Romans what we Greeks are made of."

My jaw dropped, so did everyone else's. Annabeth started laughing.

Little did we know that Lupa was saying the exact opposite thing back at Camp Jupiter.


	2. DaggerThrowing

TEN MONTHS LATER

Annabeth's POV

My body ached from my vigorous training efforts. It was almost non-stop. Even during school I raced to the gym after the bell rang. I was about to see if all those training efforts paid off, because the Olympics were finally here.

The Demeter and Aphrodite cabin had decorated the arena in all sorts of colors. They had crafted gold designs into the stands, and hung banners. Along the shore line for the water sports were huge stands for the spectators that would be filling every row.

The gods had all arrived in classic Greek togas. The centaurs had come to watch the big sporting event. Even our mortal parents were invited. Camp Jupiter had come to Camp Half-Blood to meet their team members and craft their team flags. My flag was grey with a great horned owl on it.

We added in dagger-throwing to the games. That would be the first one I was competing in. I practiced every day. I was so nervous for it.

Percy came into the waiting room with me, were all the competitors sat. The crowd roared outside in the arena. I kept pacing the room, sitting down, and then getting up to pace again. My hands were sweaty and my breath shaky.

I put in her hands. "Oh gods, Percy."

Percy got up and hugged me. "You'll do great. Really. No one has trained harder than you for this. Even if you don't win a laurel wreath you'll still have tried your hardest, right?"

I nodded, and Percy scrunched his eyebrows together. He patted my shoulder. "Don't be nervous."

"One little mistake. One _little _mistake, Percy."

"I know," Percy said.

I looked over at the competitor from Camp Jupiter. We were separated only by a glass wall. She looked calm and confident. Her name was Ana, daughter of Concordia, goddess of agreement and understanding. I had heard that Ana was known for her knife throwing skills. I was angry at her. Usually I was the calm and confident one. I wanted to beat her so bad.

Malcolm opened the door. "It's time," he said.

Percy gave an encouraging nod at me. I put on a confident face and walked out the door.

I walked into the roaring of the crowd. There were the targets, and the assortment of daggers we could choose from.

The gods took up the front row of stands. The all had grim looks on their faces. I saw Percy just sit down next to Grover. Grover was waving a sign that read: ATHENA. I smiled at them.

I walked in front of the table with the throwing knives. I picked one with a short, slender handle and wide blade.

My opponents picked theirs and we all lined up in front of our targets. We waited to see which of us would go first. My heart was pounding.

Ana raised her head, drew back her dagger and threw it. The crowd went silent. Her dagger hit the target with a thud. Right in the middle of the target. I could feel blood rushing to my face. Anyone who went next would look foolish next to her, but I drew back my dagger as I had done so many times before, and I threw it. It just missed the center. I balled my hands into fists. That's okay, I told myself. It's just one time out of three. Two more shots.

I looked for Percy and Grover in the stands. They were both clapping and smiling encouragingly at me.

I took a deep breath. My other opponents had thrown at their targets as well. I had done better than them, but I had to beat Ana if I wanted to get the gold.

I threw my dagger again, and this time it hit the target. My mother started clapping. I thought I heard her say, "That's my girl, Annabeth."

That gave me courage. I threw my dagger again and it hit the target with a _shlock!_

I raised my hands, signaling I was done. I could hear Connor Stoll's voice in the speakers. "And that's it for Annabeth Chase, daughter of Athena! Hit the middle of the target two times out of three! Good job, Annabeth! That'll show those Romans-

"Connor!" a voice screeched. It was Ceres. Demeter in her Roman form. "Another word like that-

"All right, all right." Connor said. "Anyways, Ana draws her arm back to throw and-oh she just misses. One more try, though."

"It's all right Ana!" I hear Ana's mom, Concordia say.

Ana pursed her lips. One more try. I could see her running her hands through her hair. She threw her dagger, and it missed the middle just barely.

"She wins silver!" I hear Connor Stoll cry.

Percy and all my friends stand up and clap. Percy's grinning furiously, and I can't help noticing the blood that rises to my head. The Athena cabin have me lifted onto their shoulders, taking me to wear I would be given a golden laurel wreath.

I felt sorry for Ana. She was a good dagger thrower, she really was.

As Apollo put the golden laurel wreath on my head, Ana turned to me and stuck out her hand. I was surprised, but I shook it. Then she turned her head as Apollo put a silver wreath on her, and then went on to the son of Clementia who won a bronze wreath.

Athena thank you, I thought. The Olympics was getting off to a pretty good start.


	3. Tension

I got up early to take a walk on the beach. I've broken curfew so many times now I just didn't really care. I tried to get rid of my nerves. I shouldn't have been nervous, I mean, I'd fought plenty of times before. This time was different though. I'd being going up against opponents like Reyna and Jason Grace, who would both be competing in my level.

A conch horn sounded, which meant it was time for campers to wake up. I walked back to my cabin, kicking rocks as I walked.

It just wasn't fair. I was the only son of Poseidon. I had no team. I felt like the gods didn't care, and just expected me to deal with it, which was probably true.

I looked up to see Grover running towards my cabin. He looked panicked.

"Grover! I'm here." I shouted to him.

"Percy," he panted.

I ran up to him. "What's wrong? What happened?"

"It's Will," Grover said. "He's been poisoned."

"What?"

Grover sighed. "Just come."

We both ran towards the Apollo cabin, but there was already a crowd at the door. Lyra, a daughter of Apollo, walked out and closed the door behind her.

"All right people, he's all right. He just needs to stay in bed for a week."

"What?" Clarisse said. "But the archery competition is in three days! He's the only one from Camp Half-Blood who will be competing for us!"

"Well, that's a shame." Said an unpleasant voice behind us.

We all turned. Octavian stood looking rather concerned.

"That means there will only be three competitors from Camp Jupiter competing in archery, including me. I was hoping I could see what you Greeks are made of, but I guess not."

I closed my eyes. "Octavian, get out of here."

He shrugged and walked off. Clarisse looked at me. "That slimeball poisoned him."

Travis nodded. "Obviously."

"The gods didn't say we couldn't cheat." Connor pointed out.

"He's going to be sorry." Clarisse growled.

"Look, guys, we can't worry about this now. We have to train. Camp Jupiter could never beat us. We aren't cheaters." I said.

Clarisse didn't look too pleased about that.

Annabeth walked up. "Alright, everybody to breakfast. We've got a long day of training ahead of us."

The crowd dispersed. Annabeth walked up to Grover and I. "Is it true?" she asked. "Will's been poisoned?"

Grover nodded. "It was Octavian."

"Jerk." Annabeth mumbled. She sighed. "Percy don't let this get to your head. Sword fighting competition is next week. You've got to beat Jason."

I gave her a lopsided smile. "Or what? You'll break up with me. I'm scared enough as it is."

Grover patted me on the back. "You _will _beat him."

"Come on, let's get to breakfast." I said.

After breakfast I decided to train a little in the arena. I swung my sword as I walked, practicing disarming techniques. As I walked into the arena, two other people walked in on the opposite end. I stopped. Jason and I looked awkwardly at each other.

"Um, I'll . . . find somewhere else to practice." Jason stammered.

"Um, no you can have the arena." I said.

Piper shook her head a little. "Um, Jason can find somewhere else to practice, can't you Jason? Sorry Percy, we won't bother you."

Piper pulled on Jason's and they both walked quickly out of the arena.

I shifted my feet. I couldn't even hang out with my friends anymore because of the stupid games. I gripped my sword and attack the nearest dummy, slashing off it's head and running it though. I spun and kicked the next one in the head, slicing the neck. I continued like this for hours, slicing and cutting. Before I knew it, Annabeth was running up to me.

"Percy, you missed lunch."

I sighed. "Sorry. Just practicing."

Annabeth crossed her arms and raised her eyebrows. "Yeah, I can see that."

I gripped my sword. "Annabeth, I can't afford to lose to Jason, or to Reyna. Everyone's counting on me-

"Percy, you've never faltered before. You took down Kronos and a couple other Titans. You've faced countless terrifying monsters. You can do this."

I swallowed my fears and nodded.

One week later I stood up in the waiting area. The crowd roared just outside. My ears felt ready to burst already. I closed my eyes and thought of the time when Jason and I fought in the fields in Kansas. I exhaled. This time it's for real. This is when I show everybody where those years of training led me. I picked up my sword and gripped it tight before slipping it into my pocket.

I was ready.


End file.
